Stricken galloper Gingernuts has made it through the most crucial stage of his recovery from Saturday’s sudden injury and has been given a 50/50 chance of racing again.

That encouraging prognosis followed surgery today at the University of Melbourne Werribee Veterinary Clinic necessitated by the pastern injury Gingernuts suffered when cantering to the start for the Gr. 1 Emirates Stakes at Flemington.

“An email from the Werribee Clinic said that the CT scan to further evaluate the injury confirmed a fracture of the long pastern bone and which was actually worse than originally thought,” Te Akau Racing principal David Ellis told www.theinformant.co.nz.

“The decision was made to place Gingernuts under general anaesthetic and conduct surgery, when four compressions screws were inserted and a small fragment was removed from the fetlock joint arthroscopically.

“The fracture came together well and barring any further complications, the prognosis is that he stands a 50/50 chance for a return to racing.”

Gingernuts is expected to spend a week under supervision at the Werribee Clinic before he is moved to a suitable recovery facility and in time returns to New Zealand.

“Initially it was gut-wrenching and since then we’ve had to manage the situation as best we can,” Ellis added. “Today’s news is encouraging, but we are not in a position at this stage to make any plans.

“The main thing is the horse’s welfare and we can assume that even in a best case scenario, the earliest he would race again would be next season.”